The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1887-04-06

doned population of the streetss win you
gather them in your churches. IL Is
not the viii Of your Heavenly Father
that one Of these little ones should
perish. II you have ten respectable
children in your class. gather in ten that are
not respectable. If in your Bible class there
be twenty young men who have come from
Christian homes and elegant surroundings,
let those twenty young men go out and
gather in twenty more Of the young men Of
the city who are lost 70 God and lost TO so
ciety. This outside population, unless edu-
Gated and restrained, viii work terror in ages
that are TO come. Years ago at New Orleans,
when the cholera was raging fearfully. a
steamboat put out just before nightfall
crowded with passengers who were trying to
escape from the pestilence. After the boat
had been out little while the engineer fell
with the cholera. The captain in consterna-
ton went down among the passengers and
asked: as there any one here who knows
anything about engineeringN A swarthy
man replied Il am" an engineer" swell, I"
said the captain, Il would be very glad if
you would take charge of this boat" The
man went 70 the engine. The steamer moved
more rapidly until after while the captain
and some passengers were alarmed and they
went TO see what was the matter, and they
found that this was a maniac engineer and that
he was seated on the safety valve; and as they
came TO him, be said Il am commissioned Of
satan to drive this steamer 10 hell.H and he
fiourished his pistol, and would not come
down. But after while, through some
stratagem, he was brought from his position,
and the lives OF the passengers were saved.
Oh my friends. that steamer had no such
peril as our institutions are threatened with,
if the ignorant and unrestrained children of
this land shall come up in their ignorance and
their crime To engineer our civil and religious
Institutions and drive them on the rocks.
Educate this abandoned population, or they
viii overthrow the institutions of this land.
Gather them into your Sabbath schools.
congratulate you that many have been gath
cred. Go forth, teachers, in the name of the
Lord Jesus Christ and on the coming Sab
baths may there be found gathered scores
and hundreds OF these wanderers and instead
of 800 in the Sabbath school, we shall see
3 200 or 4 900, and the grace of God will come
down upon them, and the Holy Spirit will
bring them all into the truth.
Another characteristic OF live church is
one with appropriate architecture. In the
far west and amid destitute population, a log
church is very approprlate-the people living
in log houses But in communities where
uncommodiots or lacking in beauty is a
moral nuisance. Because Christ was born in
a manger is no reason why we shonld wor-
ship him in a barn. Let the churches OF
Jesus Christ he not only comfortable, but
ornate. Years ago we resolved to have a
comfortable church We resolved that it
should be ampbitheatrical in shape. The
prominent architects of the country, after
figuring on the matter a good while, said that
such a church would not be churchly, and
they would have nothing to do with the en-
terprise. But after a while we found an
architect willing to risk his reputation. He
nut ND for us the first tabernacle, in amphi-
theatrical style We liked it. All who came
liked it, This building followed in the same
STYLE We believe it is appropriate and
adapted. An angular church will have an
angular theology. The church of Jesus
Christ ought to be a great family
circle, the pulpit only the fireplace,
| around which they are gathered In sweet and
domestic communion. But when our first
tabernacle went up, o, the caricature and the
soothing! They said: "It's hippodromel
It's holy circus! It's Talmage's theatre"'
But the Lord came down with power upon
that old building, and made it the gate OF
heaven to a great many. And this building
in the style OF architecture is proved by the
fact that now there are sixty or seventy
churches in the United States in the same
style Indeed, our tabernacle has revolution
lied church architecture in this country. A
live 'lurch must have commodious, COM
foris.jiie an adapted building. How amiable
are Thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts!
would rather be doorkeeper in the house OF
my God than to dwell in the tents Of wicked
ness.
Again, the characteristic OF live church
must be that it is a soul saving church. 1t
must be the old Gospel of Christ. Co." say
some people, "the Gospel of Christ allows but
a small swing for mans faculties, and some
men have left the ministry with that idea. "
One such said to Rowland Hill: II have left
the ministry, because don't want to hide my
talents any longer.r sWell," replied Rowland
Hill, II think the more you hide your talents
the better" Why, there is no field on earth
so grand as that which is open before the
Gospel ministry. Have you powers of anal.
ysiss exhaust them here. Have you uncon-
| querable logicl let it grapple with Paurs
Epistle to the Romans. Have you strong
imagination, let it discourse on the Psalms of
| David or Johns apocalyptic vision. Have
you great powers of pathosi exhaust it in tell
ing the story of a Savior's love. Have you a
bold style of thinking' then follow Eezekiel's
wheel, full of eyes, and hear through his
chapters the rush of the wings OF the sera-
phim. All we who want grand field in
which to work for God, come into the gospel
ministry. AT any rate, come into Christian
circles, and somewhere and somehow declare
the grace OF God, Pardon for all sin. Com
fort for all trouble. Eternal life for all the
dead. o, my souls preach it forever. 1t has
been my ambition, and / believe it has
been yours. my dear people, in these years
of my ministry to have this a soul saving
church, and we never yet threw out the Cos
pei net but we drew in great multitude
They have come 100 at time, and 200 at q
time, and SO at time, and l expect the day
will appear when, in some service, there will
be 5000 souls accepting the offers of eternal
life wish ] could tell you some circum-
stances that have come under my observation,
proving the fact that God has blessed the
prayers of these people in behalf of souls i'm
mortal could tell you OF one night when l
stood at the end of the platform and a gentle
man passed noe, his cheek bronzed with the
sea. and as he went into the inquiry room he
said TO me: ~ am an Englishman." / said:
II am very glad to see you, walk in.p That
! night he gave his heart to the Lord,
1t was a clear case of quick but
thorough conversion. Passing out at
the close of the inquiry meeting
said: 'How long have you been In this coun-
tryi' He said: az arrived by steamer this
morning at IL O'clock / said: "How long
win you lie in the cityg' He said: Il leave
tomorrow for Canada, and thence go to
Halifax, and thence to Europe, and I'll never
be here again. I said: II think you must
have come to this country to have your soul
saved" He saidy THAT certainly was the
reason In that other room, one night, at
the close of the service, there sat among other
persons, three persons looking so cheerful that
| said to myself: "These are not anxious in
quirers" / said to the man: @Are you
Christian" He said: II am" said. aWhen
did you become Christianln He said: ITO
night" His wife sat next to him said to
her: @Are you Christians She said; az
am" said: "When did you become Chris
tan" She said: Tonight remarked. as
this young lady your daughters' They said:
Yes" said 10 her: Are you a Christianr
She said: ayes" said: "When did you be-
come a ChristianTs She said: sTo-uight." |
said TO them: "From whence came yous"
They said: ave are from Charleston, S. c.
l said: "When did you conner They said:
ave came yesterday How long are you
going to remain.' I'VE go tomorrow. We
have never been here before, and shall never
be here again" 1 have heard from them
since. They are members of the church of
Jesus Christ. in good and regular standing,
eminent for consistency and piety. And so
God has made it a soul-saving church. But
could tell you Of tragic scene, when once.
at the close of the service, found a man In
one of these front seats, wrought upon most
nightly. l said to him: .sWhat is the
matterr' He replied: II am captive of
strong drink; I came from the west: I
thought, perhaps, you could do me some
good. find you can't do me any good:
1 find there is no hope for me- / said:
ACome into this side room and we viii talk
together @Oh, nor he said, sthere's no